Faunal analysis from Kibaoni, a late precolonial Pimbwe village in Rukwa Valley, Tanzania: first reconstructions of cultural and environmental histories

Abstract

The cultural history and past ecology of the northern Rukwa Valley, southwestern Tanzania, are largely unknown. We report here the results of excavations conducted at Kibaoni, a Pimbwe village located near Katavi National Park, which, based on ceramic typologies, displays a long sequence of occupation dating to as early as the fourth century AD. The faunal remains at the site indicate opportunistic hunting practices similar to those seen in Rukwa today, despite the numerous political and demographic changes of the past century. Our analysis contributes to the construction of a cultural history for the region and indicates that further study will aid in understanding the interplay between humans and the environment in late precolonial, interior East Africa.

L′histoire de la culture et de l’écologie du nord de la vallée de Rukwa, dans le sud-ouest de la Tanzanie, sont largement inconnues. Notre rapport porte sur les résultats des fouilles menées à Kibaoni, dans le village de Pimbwe situé près du Parc National de Katavi, qui, sur la base de typologies céramiques, affiche une longue séquence d′occupation datant dès le 4e siècle ap J.-C. Les restes fauniques sur le site indiquent les pratiques opportunistes de chasse, similaires à celles observées aujourd′hui dans Rukwa, malgré les nombreux changements démographiques et politiques du siècle passé. Notre analyse contribue à la construction d′une histoire culturelle de la région et indique que des études supplémentaires nous aiderons à comprendre mieux l'intéraction entre l'homme et l'environnement à la fin de la période précoloniale de l'Afrique orientale intérieure.

Keywords:

• Pimbwe
• Kibaoni
• Rukwa
• Katavi National Park
• Tanzania
• historical ecology
• zooarchaeology

Acknowledgements

We thank Dr Tim Caro and Dr Monique Borgerhoff Mulder for their logistical support and for their invaluable discussions about the people and ecology of Rukwa Valley and Katavi National Park; Dr Bertram Mapunda for his analysis of the ceramic artefacts; Peter Abwalo and the entire staff at the Tanzanian Department of Antiquities for their assistance; Dr Chris Conroy for providing access to the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology at the University of California, Berkeley, and Dr Zelalem Assefa for sharing with us the Digital Archive of East African Ungulate Dentitions. Additional thanks go to Dr Chris Darwent, Professor Richard Klein and Joanne Goodsell for their assistance, to two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and to Elena Weaver for assistance with translating the abstract into French.